


The Warriors Who Built This Town

by Morathor



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-12-17 06:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morathor/pseuds/Morathor
Summary: A disastrous temporal anomaly has caused a branching timeline to become adrift from the rest of time's flow.  Centered on Earth, circa Age 740, this anomaly has swept away a number of the world's inhabitants--including a young Son Goku--and left confused children pulled from across time and space in their stead.  With the saiyan who would grow into Earth's greatest champion missing, who will rise up to take on the threats he faced?  And will new dangers arise from the alterations to the timeline?





	1. Prologue: Missing Persons

The old man carefully adjusted the comforter that covered the small child. He looked down at her, worry heavy on his face, brow furrowing slightly more in sympathy with the expression of distress that suddenly twisted her features, even in her sleep. With a heavy sigh, he turned and made his way back to the table, sitting across from a younger man, who was staring down at the teacup in front of him. The old man reached for the teapot.

**"Oh!"** said the young man, snapping to attention. **"Let me."** He reached for the teapot, but the older man waved him off.

**"Nonsense, it's my house. Let me be a good host."** He poured a fresh cup of tea for the youth, then refilled his own, before setting the pot back in its place.

The younger man's eyes returned to his cup, not drinking from it right away. **"She's sleeping?"**

**"Yes, but not easily. Still, it might help her sort out whatever happened to her. Maybe she'll remember more when she wakes up."**

**"Hm." ** The young man did not sound particularly hopeful. He picked up his tea and took a sip.

**"By the way, officer, since I have you here, well, I hate to trouble you with another problem, but I'm a bit worried about my own boy."**

**"O-oh!" ** This shook the younger man from whatever thoughts he was stewing in, and he straightened up--or perhaps stiffened would be the better term. **"Did something happen to him?"**

**"I'm not sure. He hasn't come home for dinner yet. And he's not one to miss a meal. Although, he's a strong lad, and a good hunter. Could be he's caught his own dinner, and decided to camp out in the woods without telling me." ** He chuckled, and though there was certainly an edge of nervousness to the laugh, it didn't completely erase the fondness in his voice. **"We're still working on manners. But I have a bad feeling, and I wondered if you could--"**

**"I'll look into it. Absolutely, Mr. Son."**

**"Good, good. That's a weight of my mind."** Son nodded, and the two were silent for a moment. Then, ** "Do you need to know his name, or what he looks like, Officer?"**

**"Oh, yes! Absolutely, yes."** The young man began rummaging through his pockets, quickly pulling out a notepad.

**"...I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"**

**"It's Lavender, sir."**

The old man chuckled again, not as nervously as before, but not as fondly either. ** "You're hiding a lot from me, young man. Your name, your ki... but you can't hide your heart. A good heart, with good intentions. That's why I haven't run you out of my home yet. But I wish you would trust me a little more."**

Lavender's face was a mask of panic, mind racing to find an excuse, an explanation, a plausible denial. But finally he sighed, his shoulders relaxing, and gave a small, sad smile. **"You certainly live up to your reputation, Mr. Son."**

**"...do you know what's happened to my Goku?"**

**"He's gone, sir."**

**"Dead?"**

**"No. Uh." ** Lavender turned his eyes on the sleeping girl in the corner. ** "He's been... switched, I think. And, I can assure you, my team and I are going to do everything we can to find him. But these things... they're hard to undo, once they've happened."**

**"Isn't everything?"** Son Gohan glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping child. ** "I don't think she was lying, about not knowing her family, or where she's from."**

**"I don't think so either. This isn't something she did on purpose; she was taken from where she belongs, same as Goku." ** He drummed his fingers on the table for a few moments, brow furrowing in thought. ** "The truth is, it might be better if she doesn't know. Even if she remembers where she came from, it might not be possible for her to ever go back."**

Gohan gave a heavy sigh and turned back to Lavender. ** "Thank you. For your honesty, and for your efforts in finding my boy." ** His eyes glistened slightly as he tried to hold back tears. **"I'll take her to town first thing in the morning... but if she can't find a place there, I'll look after her."**

Lavender nodded, then stood up. **"I have to go now; I have a lot of work to do. But I promise you, if I can find Goku, I'll bring him back to you." ** He bowed slightly. **"And, thank you for the tea."**

**"Heh heh. While you're at it, see if you can teach him any of your manners." ** Though he tried to sound playful, Son's voice was growing thick with emotion.

Lavender walked out of the hut and made his way through the forest, down towards the main road. A short young woman was waiting for him; even in the dim light of the moon, it was easy to tell she wasn't human from her pink hair and skin, and her long, pointed ears. She waved cheerfully at the young man with a broad smile, that stood in stark contrast to his gloomy presence. **"That took a while! Are you ready to move on?"**

Lavender gave her a blank look for a few moments, then shook his head. **"How many people were... switched?"**

**"By my count, one hundred and nine."**

The young man doubled over as if the news had struck him in the gut. ** "A hundred and..."**

**"And nine!"**

**"Who? I mean, who's missing?"**

The young woman put her hands on her hips. ** "I'm certainly not going to stand here and list off all those names. It'll be in your mission briefing. Eventually."** She tilted her head to one side. **"But really, you're just interested if you know any of them, aren't you?"**

**"Well... I mean I know at least one of them. And if we can't get Goku back, Gohan can never exist. But aside from him--"**

The woman stomped her foot and wagged a scolding finger at him. **"Shame on you! Just because they're your friends doesn't mean they're more important! Your responsibility is to all of time!" ** She dropped her hand, her expression softening slightly. **"But I suppose I can at least assure you that your mother is safe in West City. And all the disappearances have been on Earth, so of course Vegeta was never in danger."**

**"That's a relief, at least. But without Goku, who knows how anything will unfold."**

**"Again, our concern has to be with the larger picture. You're thinking of restoring events to something like what you're familiar with, but that's really not an option at this point. This world has already splintered off into its own timeline."**

**"But--"**

**"Our priorities, Trunks, are--in order, mind you--to ensure that this timeline doesn't unravel entirely and unmake everyone in it; to determine whether this anomaly happened naturally or if there was someone behind it; and to minimize any suffering that resulted from the anomaly. Now." ** She put her hands up. ** "That third priority certainly would include reuniting the missing people with their families, assuming it can be done without messing up the first two. Or at all. I'm just saying, we can't get fixated on putting everything back the way it was. Understand?"**

Trunks' shoulders slumped a little. **"Yes ma'am."**

**"Good!"** She clapped her hands together. ** "Let's get to work."**


	2. First Adventure, First Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Art for this chapter courtesy of zombbean and linked with the artist's permission; social media info below))

The early morning sun was beginning to creep in through the drawn blinds of a bedroom. It fell on the serene face of a person laying on a futon; as the light lingered on skin, she groaned a little and rolled onto her side. She lay still for a few more seconds, before sitting up slowly with a sigh. She reached out towards an alarm clock near her bed, which started to go off half a second before her fingers reached it, and was silenced just as quickly. She didn't usually need the clock to wake her, but she had to admit it didn't hurt to have it just in case.  
  
She reached up to her face, yawning as she rubbed her eyelids, then let her hands drop. She did not open her eyes. She went through a fairly uneventful morning routine--tidying, breakfast, hygiene--apparently guided only by touch and memory. After she washed and dried her face, attempting in vain to pin back a thick fringe of black hair that fell into her face, she picked up and unwound a roll of clean linen bandages and began wrapping them around her eyes. Once several layers of cloth effectively blindfolded her, she seemed to relax slightly, and she changed out of her pajamas, donning loose pants and a long robe.  
  
She walked towards the door of her little apartment and tapped at a couple of pairs of shoes with her foot, weighing her options. The heels had been a present, from the same friend who had given her the alarm clock, the same friend she was meeting today, but they were so uncomfortable. Especially if they were going to be doing a lot of walking, which seemed likely. So it probably wouldn't hurt Bulma's feelings to leave them at home, right? Really, it would be entirely unreasonable to expect her to wear high heels while hiking through the wilderness. Then again, she often found Bulma to be unreasonable, and the idea of offending her only friend petrified her.   
  
She couldn't be sure how long she stood paralyzed with indecision, only that she was finally shaken from it by the sound of footsteps approaching the door to her apartment. The gait was unmistakably Bulma's, and by the slap of rubber soles on the concrete, she was sure her friend was wearing sneakers. Vindicated, she stepped into her more comfortable shoes, crouching down to fasten the strap as Bulma pounded on the door.  
  
**"Tashi! Are you awake? You were supposed to meet me in the parking lot five minutes ago!"**  
  
Tashi straightened up and hurriedly opened the door. **"I'm awake,"** she said, speaking quietly and maintaining a placid expression despite her internal panic. ** "I'm ready to go."**  
  
  
  
**"Good, because if you kept me waiting any longer, I was going to go on this little adventure without you."** Although Tashi could not see Bulma's expression, her tone assured Tashi that she was kidding.  
  
**"You'd be eaten by wolves."** Although Tashi's voice and expression still conveyed no emotion, Bulma's sharp laugh let her know that her words had been taken as the joke they were intended to be.  
  
Well, mostly a joke. For a genius, Bulma could be very foolish. She was hardly an expert on wilderness survival, and generally didn't seem to grasp how dangerous the world could be. Tashi didn't trust that she could handle this expedition alone. It was the only reason Tashi had asked to come along, the only reason she had spent a nerve-wracking week working up the courage to broach the subject.  
  
**"Tashi? You** **still with me? You're spacing out a little."**  
  
Tashi shook her head as Bulma's voice drew her out of her concerns. **"I'm here,"** she said, stepping out of her apartment and shutting the door behind her. She reached out and took the railing across the walkway and vaulted over it, leaping from the third story of the apartment complex and landing gracefully on the sidewalk below.  
  
**"Yeah, okay," **Bulma called down.** "I'm going to take the stairs, though."**  
  
Tashi took a few moments to smooth the front of her garments as Bulma made her way over to the stairwell and down two flights of steps. **"Eaten by wolves,"** she repeated to herself. She waited for Bulma to catch up to her, then walked alongside her to the parking lot. Bulma reached into a pouch at her side and pulled something out; there was the unmistakable click of a capsule being activated, followed by a loud poof as her car appeared. Tashi settled herself into the passenger's seat as Bulma took the wheel.  
  
As they made their way out of the parking lot and onto the road, Bulma began digging through various pouches at her belt. ** "Now, we only have about six weeks to find these, and they're scattered all over."** She pulled out something rather larger than a capsule; Tashi guessed it was the tracking device she'd been working on lately. She held it up to Tashi. **"See?"**  
  
**"No."** The car swerved suddenly as Bulma narrowly avoided crashing into an oncoming vehicle; Tashi could feel the wind of its passage dangerously close to her.  
  
**"Actually, why don't you hold this." ** Bulma pushed the device into Tashi's hand. **"So I can keep my hands free."** Although she turned more of her attention to the road than she had before, Bulma continued talking. **"I figure we'll start with the nearest one, just as a test run. Then I've got my eye on one way out to the southeast. From there we should be able to basically arc along the coast and pick up the rest on our way back home. Sound good?"**  
  
**"Okay. I trust you."** Bulma might have been underestimating the danger of this journey, but Tashi had no doubt that her route was sound, whatever it was. She turned the device over and over in her hands, if only to have something to keep them occupied.  
  
The next week or so of travel was uneventful, especially with a blindfold on. Bulma spent much of her time describing the scenery to Tashi, the beautiful landscapes and exotic vistas they were passing through. It made the trip quite a bit more enjoyable than any journey Tashi had made before, even if she suspected Bulma was making most of it up--there was no way that North Valley contained, for example, a miraculously silent waterfall that cast a beautiful rainbow over a shining pond. But the fact that Bulma was trying to make the trip more exciting for Tashi, even if it was only a way to show off what a great adventure she'd come up with, was appreciated.  
  
Every few hours they would stop for a break; whenever they did, Bulma would take her radar back and double-check their course and coordinates. After one of their stops on the eighth day, Bulma put her car back in its capsule, rather than getting back on it. ** "I think we overshot it a bit. We'll need to go on foot from here."**  
  
**"Okay."**  
  
Tashi followed close behind Bulma as the girl tromped through the wooded hillsides of North Valley, singularly focused in her quest; her usual chatter was replaced with only the occasional 'hmm' or 'maybe' as she calibrated her radar. But even these began to peter out before long, replaced with increasingly exhausted panting. After a while, Bulma finally sank to the ground, slumping against a tree. **"Okay," she gasped. "I think that's enough for today."**  
  
**"Sunset isn't for a few hours."**  
  
**"How do you know that?" ** Bulma shook her head. ** "Doesn't matter. I'm tired. Do you want to keep looking?" ** She held up the radar. ** "Or is it still too bright for your eyes?"**  
  
**"How would I know how bright it is."**  
  
**"I dunno. You know when it's sunset, so..." ** She shrugged. ** "I guess that's a no?"**  
  
Tashi didn't answer right away, pondering her options. Eventually Bulma called out to her, trying to snap her out of her wandering thoughts, but for once Tashi wasn't wandering. After a long consideration, she walked over to where Bulma was sitting, turned her back on the girl, and squatted down. ** "I can carry you."**  
  
**"What?"**  
  
**"I walk, you guide."**  
  
**"You sure?"** Despite the question, Bulma was already scrambling onto Tashi's back.  
  
**"It's fine. Fifty kilos for a couple of hours. I can handle that."**  
  
**"Excuse you, fourty-eight kilos."**  
  
Tashi stood up, shifting back and forth as she settled Bulma's weight on her back. ** "...um. Okay. Where do we go?"**  
  
With Tashi doing the heavy lifting, they were able to search for another few hours, but to no avail. Soon they had to get out of the treeline, to a clearing large enough for Bulma to set up her capsule house. The next day proved equally fruitless. It wasn't until the third day of searching that they were able to narrow the location down to--  
  
**"The tree!" ** Bulma looked up into the branches of the large tree in front of them, then walked a slow lap around the trunk, keeping her eyes on her radar as she did. ** "It's got to be somewhere up in the tree." ** She looked up again and groaned. ** "How high up do you think it is?"**  
  
Tashi approached the tree, laying a hand delicately against the trunk. She ran her fingertips up and down along the bark as she circled the tree, trying to get a more exact feel for its size and shape. Satisfied, she slowly curled her hand into a fist, and rested her knuckles against the trunk. Then, in a flash of movement, she drew her arm back and punched the tree with a CRACK that rang through the valley. Bulma threw her hands over her head as debris tumbled from the treetop.  
  
**"Geez, WARN A GIRL NEXT TIME!"**  
  
**"Sorry. Did it fall out?"**  
  
Bulma glanced around at the birds' nests and loose branches that had fallen around them. **"Uh, no."**  
  
**"Okay. I'm warning you this time."**  
  
**"Wha--"**  
  
CRACK!  
  
Bulma yelped again, crouching down. Amidst the crashing noises and Bulma's shouting, Tashi was just barely able to make out a dull thud. It didn't sound like wood, or fruit, or anything she would have expected to fall out of a tree. It sounded like something small, dense, and hard hitting the ground. Tashi walked towards where she had heard the impact, poking at things on the ground with her toes. Bulma soon noticed her heading, and rushed ahead of Tashi, snatching something up.  
  
**"Ha ha! Found it!"**  
  
**"Good work."**  
  
Bulma held her prize above her head, examining it closely. ** "It's the... five star ball!" ** Her voice was overflowing with pride. ** "I told you my radar worked!"**  
  
**"I already believed you."**  
  
**"That's two down, five to--"**  
  
Tashi could hear feet kicking off of a tree, not too far away; she was a little impressed that she hadn't noticed anyone approaching sooner. The stranger soared over Bulma's head, snatching the dragonball from her fingers, and disappeared into the trees.  
  
**"Wh-what?"** Bulma lowered her now empty hand to look at it, dumbfounded. ** "What?"** She looked up at Tashi--or rather, where Tashi had been, before she had rushed to pursue the thief. **"What? Tashi! Tashi wait up!"**  
  
**"You catch up,"** Tashi called back, though she did not raise her voice above its usual level.  
  
Unsurprisingly, Bulma couldn't make out the words. ** "What?"** she called out again, but received no answer. Tashi had to keep pressing the thief; if she gave them any breathing room to slow down, they might be able to hide themselves, as they had before.  
  
As she closed the distance, all her attention focused on her target, Tashi began to pick up little details, one by one. Bit by bit, cloth snagging against branches gave her a mental image of a full-body suit, with a hood that covered long, upright ears. Something jostled against the thief's back--perhaps two feet long, relatively straight, with multiple parts nestled inside each other that rattled as it moved. From the scraping of wood against steel, Tashi's guess was a sheathed blade. And as she drew closer, she began to catch the thick odor of a dog.   
  
Despite his head start, Tashi was able to catch up to the thief in just a few minutes, eventually getting close enough to reach out and grab the scabbard strapped to his back. The ninja quickly reached back to grab his sword, but that just meant that when Tashi yanked it towards her, he came with it, rather than the strap breaking. She tossed the dog-man over her shoulder, turning to face him as he landed with a crash.  
  
**"Oww..."** Despite his whimper of pain, he jumped to his feet, drawing his sword. **"I didn't want to have to do this!"**  
  
**"Then don't."**  
  
He hesitated for a moment, seemingly confused, then gripped the weapon in both hands. **"Stand aside or I'll be forced to fight you."**  
  
**"You'll lose. Please give me the ball."**  
  
**"Finder's keepers!"**  
  
Tashi tilted her head to the side. **"...you didn't find it. We did."**  
  
**"Well... I've been looking for it longer!"**  
  
**"I... I don't..." ** Tashi's brow furrowed under her bandages--which, she suddenly noticed, had started to come loose as she was hurrying through the trees. **"I don't know what that has to do with anything. Excuse me."** She reached up and began tightening the cloth over her eyes.  
  
**"Ha! An opening!"** The ninja leaped towards her, sword raised high. But before he could reach her, before he could even process what was happening, she had closed the gap between them. With his arms above his head, his torso was completely open, and without taking her hands away from the bandages she was securing, Tashi turned her elbow towards the dog-man's stomach, letting his own momentum carry him into a painful impact. He bounced to the ground, dropping his sword as he clutched his gut.  
  
**"Don't do that. You'll get hurt."**  
  
**"I'm already hurt!"**  
  
**"Then don't do it again."** Satisfied that her bandages weren't going to unravel, Tashi bent down slightly and held her hand out to him. ** "Please give me the ball."**  
  
The man growled at her for a moment, then whimpered. He reached into a pouch and handed over the ball. He picked up his sword and got to his feet. **"This isn't over!"**  
  
**"Why not."**  
  
He faltered, then crossed his arms and stood up a little straighter. ** "Because I'll never give up!"**  
  
**"You could though. You could give up, and go away. It's safer. And easier."**  
  
Grumbling, the ninja fled. Although she could not see it, Tashi turned her face down towards the dragonball, turning it over thoughtfully in her hands until, eventually, Bulma came crashing through the underbrush. Though she seemed very out of breath, she managed to gasp out, **"Did you get it?" ** Then she must have noticed the sphere in Tashi's grasp, since she breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against a tree. **"Who was that?"**  
  
**"He had a sword."**  
  
**"What?"**  
  
**"He had a sword. You could have been hurt."**  
  
**"Hey, I can look after myself."** Bulma pulled a small pistol from her belt, releasing the safely with a sharp jerk. Tashi presumed that was for her benefit, so she could recognize the gun by sound, but there was no need for that. She'd been able to smell the gunpowder from the passenger's seat of the car.  
  
**"You could have been hurt,"** Tashi repeated. **"Are you sure you want to do this?"**  
  
**"Uh, yeah. I'm not giving up at the first sign of trouble."**  
  
**"What about the second."**  
  
**"Tashi..."**  
  
**"Or the third. I mean. If you're going to give up eventually. There's no point in putting it off."**  
  
Bulma was starting to laugh. She reached out and took the ball from Tashi's hand, then walked past her. ** "Well I'm not giving. Not until I have all seven balls and my wish. So come on!"**  
  
Tashi fell into step behind Bulma, as they made their way out of the trees and looked for a path wide enough to get the car out. They traveled in silence for a few moments.  
  
**"...but if you get eaten by wolves--"**  
  
**"Enough about the wolves already!"**

* * *

  
Art by zombbean, original [here](https://twitter.com/Zombbean/status/1191572747677315072)  
Please check them out on [twitter ](https://twitter.com/Zombbean)and [tumblr](https://zombbean.tumblr.com/)


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